Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 19,118 Shares of East West Bancorp, Inc. $EWBC

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its position in East West Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC) by 58.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,118 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in East West Bancorp were worth $1,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of East West Bancorp during the third quarter worth $31,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of East West Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of East West Bancorp by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in East West Bancorp by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EWBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of East West Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on East West Bancorp from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on East West Bancorp from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on East West Bancorp from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.23.

Insider Transactions at East West Bancorp

In other news, CEO Dominic Ng sold 30,000 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.49, for a total value of $3,704,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 707,930 shares in the company, valued at $87,422,275.70. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Archana Deskus sold 1,800 shares of East West Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.55, for a total transaction of $225,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,231 shares in the company, valued at $1,661,152.05. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,311 shares of company stock worth $6,784,711. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

East West Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EWBC opened at $129.89 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $128.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.64. The firm has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. East West Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.67 and a 1-year high of $136.24.

East West Bancorp (NASDAQ:EWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $791.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.47 million. East West Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 30.45%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that East West Bancorp, Inc. will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

East West Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. East West Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

East West Bancorp Company Profile

East West Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company and the parent of East West Bank, one of the largest independent banks headquartered in Southern California. As a full-service commercial bank, it provides a broad range of financial products and services to business and individual customers, including commercial and residential real estate lending, working capital lines of credit, trade finance, and deposit and treasury management services. The company caters to both large and middle-market businesses, leveraging its expertise to serve clients engaged in cross-border trade and investment between the United States and Greater China.

Founded in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, East West Bank has grown steadily through organic expansion and strategic branch openings.